


carpe diem

by windthorne



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Children, Childhood Sweethearts, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Growing Up, Light Angst, your otp doesn't get together but their kids might~
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-27
Updated: 2016-04-27
Packaged: 2018-06-04 06:42:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6645610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/windthorne/pseuds/windthorne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"daughters of water and princes of fire were never meant for each other."</p><p>in which zuko's son falls for katara's daughter, and everything comes full circle. it's time love won in the end. (au)</p>
            </blockquote>





	carpe diem

**Author's Note:**

> pronunciations:  
> kaito: kai-toe/doe  
> lyka: lie-kah
> 
> this is my longest zutara fic to date... and also my favorite. i absolutely loved writing this, and i've never felt so satisfied with my work. i hope you love it, too. enjoy :)

It all comes full circle when his son walks into his office and declares the fatal words.

“I think I’m in love with Lyka.” he says, soft enough for no one to hear except him.

Zuko had almost all the power in the world, but nothing could have prepared his son (and him) for this epiphany.

“What?” he asks, setting down a letter he had been previously immersed in. Everything came down to this moment.

“I… I love her, dad.” Kaito sits down before him and places his face in his hands, groaning. “I love Lyka.”

* * *

Zuko saw the signs way before anybody else did.

His son looked at her the way men looked at the night sky—like he was starstruck, in awe of her.

Well, in a father’s eyes, he looked at her like he was in love with her. And he was--Zuko knew without a doubt.

Kaito could never really mask his feelings, even if he tried. He was an open book, easy for everyone to read (and Zuko was probably to blame for that—his poor, poor genes). His son couldn’t even stop the drop of his jaw as Lyka walked up to him, blue dress swaying in the light.

Zuko assumed it was the eyes that caught Kaito off guard. She did have her mother’s eyes after all—blue as the ocean, the sky. The unattainable.

Speaking of unattainable, he had to catch his own breath as Katara soon walked into the plaza. _(the one that got away—)_

“We should definitely plan a wedding right now.”

Zuko blinked, out of touch with the world and a little astounded. “What?”

“A wedding,” Katara said, sitting next to him by the pond. “For Kaito and Lyka.”

He sputtered, and then frowned. “They’re only fifteen!”

“Oh, please, Zuko. I've been planning this since they were five."

"You're crazy, waterbender."

"Not crazy," she laughed. "Just practical."

He didn’t respond, instead turning his gaze away from her _(blue, blue eyes)_ and staring at the young teens on the bridge. Kaito was leaned back against the rail, casually talking and rolling his eyes every once in awhile, while Lyka leaned the opposite way with calm ears, arms skewed over the rail.

Katara’s voice brought him out of his thoughts. “They're quite the pair.” 

He pondered over this for a moment, agreeing. “I never imagined them to get along so well.”

Katara chuckled, and he had to will himself to not look at her. “Me too. She never stops talking about him, always pestering me about bringing her back to the fire nation for the summer.”

Zuko unconsciously picked at the grass. “He talks about her, too. I can tell he misses her when she’s gone.”

He felt as though they might not be talking about their children anymore.

It was silent for a few moments, before: “She misses him, too.”

This time, Zuko glanced back at her. Their eyes met so quickly it felt like a spark—like lightning, running through his veins.

That type of feeling never stops happening, not with her around.

But then it dissipated, and all it became was a lingering.

“Um,” she gathered herself together and stood quickly, “If you’ll excuse me, fire lord. I must find…” She blinked. “I must find my water pouch!”

And then she was gone, and all he could do was draw his attention back to the teens with a long and disappointed sigh.

* * *

She was thirty-six, then, and she was still as beautiful as ever. Her hair wasn’t as big as it was before, and there were a few wrinkles appearing on her forehead, but her glow was still there, radiating all around her.

And he loved her, damn.

But it was so wrong to have loved her. It must have been.

The Avatar was somewhere in the spirit world, probably laughing away. Zuko’s wife rested in peace quietly in the valley, her memory lingering between the bones of his son.

Widower and widow. Amazing how life worked.

He liked to think the moments between him and Katara were nonexistent and raw--moments that never happened. 

But then they looked at each other just a little longer than usual, and he had to question why their lives led to this.

A life in which their children were falling in love the way they were supposed to.

Sometimes, he thought of how cruel life was to him.

(To have a dead wife and love a widow in the end—nothing is ever easy.)

* * *

And then his son is twenty and he is here, sitting before him, confessing his love for a woman he might not be able to have.

“I love Lyka.”

Yes, nothing is ever easy.

He wants so badly for his wife to be here, to give her son some wise advice, the _right_ advice. The advice he should hear. But unfortunately, he is here, and therefore his son will listen to...well. Zuko advice.

“Kaito,” he says his son’s name roughly. “how do you know?”

His son looks up with soft, lost eyes, somewhere between confused and scared. “Because—because…I don’t know.” He stares up the ceiling. “I can’t explain it.”

“Try, then.” He wants to hear Kaito’s thoughts. Isn’t that what Uncle tried to do? 

“I just…” Kaito sighs. “There’s so many things about her. Like…like how I love to look at her.” He smiles. “I love seeing her. She’s so—just—wow—“

“How articulate.” _Just like me._

“And I always want to be with her, all the time. When she’s gone, all I can think about is her coming back. When I see her with someone else, I get annoyed and—jealous, damnit.” He scowls. “When she’s hurt, I want to hold her. And when she’s scared, I want…to protect her.”

This time, Zuko closes his head and nods, nothing to say at all.

“And…I don’t know, dad. All I know is that I don’t want her to go away again. I want to be with her, even with all her crazy waterbending and constant yelling at me.” He huffs. “Agni, all I know is I love her. That’s it.”

Zuko opens his eyes, looks at Kaito. “Then go get her.”

Kaito’s eyes widen immediately. “What?”

“You heard me. Go get her.”

“But…” Kaito scratches his head, sidetracked. “I thought…" 

“That what? I’d say no to this?” Zuko shakes his head, chuckling. “Of course not.”

“But, I’m the prince,” Kaito says, hands at his side. “I can’t…I can’t be with her.”

Zuko blinks. “Says who?”

“I don’t know. Says the rest of the world.” His son wipes his face. “All my friends tell me I’m supposed to marry a fire nation noble, and the elders, too.”

_ Just like they told me. _

“They say if I marry someone who’s not fire nation, it at least should be someone…of power.”

“Lyka is the southern water tribe’s chief’s niece.” Zuko points out. 

Kaito lets this sink in, and a brief smile appears on his face, before disappearing just as quickly. “Dad…you’re not saying no to this at all.”

“Well…” Zuko focuses on a spot on the wall and refuses to look anywhere else. “You can’t help who you fall in love with.”

“I thought you’d be all for me marrying a noble.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being with one,” he says. “But if you love someone, you can’t…” A beat. “You can’t let them go.”

Kaito’s brow rises. “So…”

“So,” Zuko says, finally meeting his eyes. “Seize the day. Go on and get her.”

_ Go do what I couldn’t. _

* * *

Iroh believes that one day, what’s meant to be will be.

“Grandpa. I’m gonna ask Lyka to marry me.”

Today just might be that day.

“Is that so?” He clasps his hands in joy, a wide smile spread across his face. “That is splendid! Finally, my grandnephew has come to his senses!”

“Grandpa, please,” Kaito laughs, relieved that yet another family member approves of his decision. “It’s not like this was made out of nowhere.”

“Absolutely not. Why, I’ve been waiting for this for years!” Iroh sets himself to giving tea to Kaito, already grabbing a cup. “It wasn’t a matter of _if_ , it was a matter of _when_."  

Kaito keeps his smile. “I’m really obvious, aren’t I?”

“Most definitely. You are just as your father was.”

At that comment, Iroh sees Kaito shift slightly. The smile on his face is replaced by an expression deep in thought, pondering.

"Something on your mind?"

His grandnephew shakes his head automatically. "No, not really. Just thinking about dad."

"And why so?"

"Because he's okay with all of this," Kaito says, "And it honestly surprises me. He didn't even fight me on this."

At that, Iroh decides to do what he does best--advise.

“May I tell you a story?”

There is a pause as his grandnephew looks at him. “About what?”

“About a boy,” Iroh starts. “Who loved a girl but didn’t know it.”

Kaito raises a brow. “Don’t go all poetic on me now, gramps.”

“That is the best way to go in life, I believe,” Iroh chuckles. “But this is a story that needs to be heard.”

“...Okay.” Kaito leans in.

“There was once a troubled boy, who wanted to save the world and redeem himself. He wanted to find his honor, and change for the better.” Iroh says, pouring tea slowly. “And he knew he would do so by doing the right thing—the righteous thing.”

“This is about my father, isn’t it?”

“Indeed.” Iroh sips his tea.

“Well, he joined the Avatar, didn’t he?” Kaito asks. “He fought by his side to save the world, right?" 

“Yes, he did. He was valiant and brave, courageous and fearless. That day, the Avatar and his masters defeated your grandfather.” He sets his tea down. “But…did you ever learn of what exactly your father did on the day Ozai fell?”

Kaito looks down. “I know that he fought our Aunt Azula in an Agni Kai, and won.”

Iroh expects this. Of course Zuko would never tell his son.

“Did you know that your Aunt Katara was with him during that battle?”

“Yes. She was the one who ended the battle with Azula, actually, after my father got struck by lightning.” Kaito says this quickly, as if he knew all the events that happened that fateful day.

“Kaito,” Iroh says, giving him a small smile. “Have you ever wondered why he got struck by lightning? He can redirect lightning easily, and he had immense power that day. My nephew had no reason to lose…but he did.”

“Are you questioning dad’s abilities?”

“Absolutely not. I’m asking you to think…why did your father lose to your aunt?”

Kaito scrunches his brow, finger going for his chin. “He must have lost his concentration. Maybe the comet made his head loopy and he was out of it.”

“He did lose his concentration.” Iroh reveals, arms crossed. “Because the lightning hadn’t been meant for him.”

“What do you mean by that? The lightning wasn’t meant for him?” Kaito leans back. “Then who was it…” He pauses. “For…”

“The lightning was shot at your Aunt Katara. And your father took the blow, sacrificing himself without a second thought.”

There is a short silence as Kaito lets this sink in. After all this time…Zuko never told him a thing…

“I…never knew of this.” Kaito admits, defeatedly.

“I suspect he didn’t want to talk about it.” Iroh sighs. “Nobody really does.”

“But why? Why wouldn’t they talk about it? He took lightning for her!” Kaito throws his hands up. “Why wouldn’t he tell that to the world? Why wouldn’t…he tell me?”

“Some moments are meant to be known only by the ones who experience it.”

Kaito shakes his head. “But he saved her. He risked his life for her—it’s such a selfless act for a fire lord. The world would love him so much more than before.”

Iroh takes another sip of tea. “It’s the most selfless thing he’s ever done for anyone in the world, I think.”

“I just…I don’t know why he wouldn’t tell me…” He glances down at his hands.

A pause settles between them, Kaito deep in thought. 

"You said this was about a boy who loved a girl and didn't know it."

Iroh says nothing, instead letting the news sink in for Kaito. The puzzle pieces are falling into place…

Kaito looks up.

“Dad loved her, didn't he?”

His answer is a bittersweet smile.

* * *

“I know. About Aunt Katara.”

Zuko freezes, looking up at his son slowly.

There is nothing but understanding and sadness in his face. And also acceptance.

“Your grandpa told you, didn’t he.”

His son doesn't answer, and Zuko knows he’s been exposed, wholeheartedly. It's all out in the open, now.

"You know," Kaito lays a hand on his father's shoulder. "It's never too late."

It is at this moment that Zuko realizes that he's too old to be a lovesick fool--and that he should start listening to his own advice.

And so he simply looks up at his son and says, "Thank you."

* * *

“Lyka.”

“Yes?" 

“I need…to...um, talk to you about something.”

“What is it?”

“…So…someone once told me to seize the day.”

“That’s nice…I guess?”

“So…that’s what I’m going to do.”

“…Okay? How will you do that, exactly?”

“By doing this.”

“Doing what? …wait…what are you doing?! Stand up!”

“No, I have to kneel down for this.”

“Is there something on the ground? What does this have to do with seizing the day?”

“Well… Um.”

“Wait.”

“…”

“Wait just a second.”

“I…I am.”

“You’re kneeling down. And…what’s that in your hand?”

“It’s a…um…a necklace." 

“Did you make it?”

“Yes.” 

“Who’s it for?”

“You.”

“Why?”

“Because—because—“

“That’s a _betrothal_ necklace!”

“I know—“

“You made a necklace—for me—because—“

“Because I want to marry you, stupid waterbender!”

“…”

_“Shit.”  _

“…” 

“Um.”

“…Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“…”

“Lyka, just…just marry me.”

“…”

“…Please.”

“…” 

“…” 

“Kaito…You’re an idiot.”

“I know.”

“Took you long enough.”

“I know.”

"..."

"..."

“I’ll still marry you, though.”

“…”

“Because, you know… seize the day and all.”

“…Agni, _finally.”_

* * *

Their wedding is beautiful.

No one thinks twice to question the peculiar pairing—in fact, literally everybody had been expecting this from the start. The better mystery was who _didn’t_ know about them.

And Katara cries multiple times during the ceremony, and the reception, and the entire day in general.

Zuko gives her credit for not breaking down the second she saw Lyka walking down the aisle to Kaito. (He doesn’t give his son credit, though, for he cried ugly, unmanly tears.)

So when she has to walk out on the balcony to cry _again,_ he finally follows.

“That’s the…sixth time you’ve cried tonight,” Zuko chuckles as he walks up behind her. “I think you beat the record for most tears at a wedding.”

Katara turns to glare at him, streams falling down her face. “Don’t judge me. It’s my daughter’s wedding!”

He gives her a genuine, but small smile. “Our children’s wedding.”

At that, Katara eyes seem to gleam even more. “Yes…that’s right.”

They say nothing to each other as he makes his way next to her at the balcony. He wills himself not to think of the way his arm touches hers just so, and how his hair is casually swaying on his robes, reminding him of their close proximity.

He’s only let himself this close in their far younger days, when he was just a banished prince and she was just the avatar’s waterbending teacher.

Now, they are the parents of newlyweds, with  a future not yet written in stone—one where anything is possible.

So he starts to write it.

“Katara?”

She glances up at him, blue eyes wide and shining. “Yes?”

“I….” He rubs the back of his neck, eyes moving away from her gaze quickly.

She notices this, and moves closer to him. "What is it?"

"Um." Where are his words? "There's...something I've been meaning to tell you."

His eyes are looking everywhere but her--the stars, the floor, the land stretched out before him.

But she is just as observant of him as she’s always been. Her hand goes for his scar in an instant, turning his stare right back to her. “So tell me, then.”

And there it is, his ultimatum, his soul, his heart—he remembers why he is here.

“I think I loved you,” He tells her, hands shaking. “All those years ago.”

A silence falls between them, but her hand doesn’t move from his face. His palms are clammy and hot, but her hand—it’s cold, gentle, and calm.

“I…really loved you.”

_ (But I couldn’t be selfish. I couldn’t give myself to you, and I couldn’t afford to ask you the same—) _

She says, “I think I did, too.”

Of course. Of course this is how they would end up.

His hand reaches for hers, aligning at his scar perfectly. There are memories of emeralds, abandoned catacombs, and a promise of freedom.

_It’s been wrong,_ he thinks. _I’ve been wrong. It was never ‘loved.’ This never ended. It was always…_

“What about now?” Katara asks, eyes wondering, discovering. “Do you still love me?”

Their hands intertwine, and Zuko breathes.

“I never stopped.”

**Author's Note:**

> let me know what you think! :)
> 
> also, carpe diem.


End file.
